Page 107 of The Mistletoe Makeover

“Don’t you have other things to do?” I ask, still stubbornly refusing to move. “Other people to see?”

He opens my car door and waits for me to step out. “Nobody more important than you.”

When I don’t move, he lets out a frustrated sigh. “Seriously, Mia, for once, let me help you.”

“I don’t need help,” I argue.

“Then I’ll carry you to my vehicle kicking and screaming if I have to. But I’m not leaving you to freeze to death.”

I don’t know if he’s serious, but I know Jace is just as stubborn as I am.

I climb out and face him. “I’m sorry if I’m keeping you from spending time with other people. I’m not trying to annoy you.”

He levels his gaze. “The only thing that’s annoying me is the fact that youassumeI want to spend time with anyone else tonight.”

I dig my hands into my coat pockets and narrow my gaze. “Even her?”

He sets his jaw. “She’s not you.” Then he pauses. “Even she noticed how I looked at you tonight.”

I hesitate, unsure if he’s telling me everything. “So that hug between you and Ava meant nothing?” I can’t hide the edge in my tone. That moment sliced my heart in two.

He stares at me for a long second, the car lights reflecting off his face. Then he shakes his head and exhales, the air rising like a cloud on this frigid night. “Is that why you didn’t stay?”

“I walked in when you were hugging,” I say. “I assumed you were getting back together.”

“Well, you assumed wrong,” he shoots back.

“That’s not how it looked.” I stride past him, trying to get away.

He grabs my arm to keep me from walking into the darkness. He knows me too well, and he won’t let me leave without an explanation.

“Were you even going to tell me you were leaving?” A pained expression flashes across his face.

“I told you I was going home after the holidays. That was always the agreement.”

“What about the happiness agreement?” he asks. “What aboutus?”

“There isnous,” I say, more firmly.

The snow is swirling around us, like we’re caught in the middle of a shaken snow globe, just me and him—and this thing between us that I can’t erase no matter how hard I try.

He dared me to be happy, and I dared to fall for him.Look where that got me.

“Sully’s Beach is where I belong,” I say. “It’s where I’m happiest.”

He shakes his head, his gaze holding mine. “There’s only one place where you belong. And that’s with me.”

His words pull everything tight inside me, knotting my emotions so I can hardly breathe. I close my eyes. “Jace, I can’t. I always said this is how it ends.”

“But this isnotthe end.” He wipes snow from my cheekbone lightly with his thumb. “Not until you give me another chance.”

“I gave you a chance. And then Ava showed up. What we had was only pretend.”

His jaw clenches. “Not for me it wasn’t.”

“What did you say?” I ask, not believing him.

He pauses, then turns to face me, the headlights catching his dark eyes, the sharp cut of his cheekbone, the angle of his jaw. Everything in my body is pulling me toward him.

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